The post of the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) chief has become the central point of a cold war among various political parties and the officers of the department, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Sources said that while CPLC chief Ahmed Chinoy has completed his tenure and is now seeking an extension, the ruling party and its allies have announced names of the people to replace Chinoy.
Currently, Idrees Gigi and Najeeb Danawala are being considered by senior officials for the post of the CPLC chief and, interestingly, their nomination is controversial due to their track record, the sources added.
They said that even considering Gigi and Danawala for the post of the CPLC chief is against the rules since, according to the department’s rules, a controversial person is ineligible for this post.
The name of Gigi has been submitted by an ally of the ruling party and there have been several complaints of misconduct and harassment against him, they added.
As for Danawala, they said that when he was a member of the Anti-Kidnapping Task Force in 2007-08, he had handed over his wireless set to a criminal who used it in several activities and was later arrested with the set still in his possession.
Danawala has also worked in Nizarat and faced several charges of mismanagement in the department as he frequently used Nizarat vehicles against the department’s rules and regulations, they added.
Sources said that Chinoy completed his one-year tenure in March this year and is still working on as the CPLC chief without any notification of extension.
“He is looking for an extension and using various tactics to remain on the post for one more year,” the sources added.
They said that politically influenced promotions in the CPLC have harmed the department’s performance and several objections have been raised by the public against the goings-on in the CPLC.
“People hired in this department on political basis are leaking information and other records, damaging the public’s trust in the CPLC and also causing danger to the lives of the people who file complaints,” they added.
It is pertinent to mention here that former provincial home minister Zulfiqar Mirza took strict notice of the issue and criticised the performance of the officials hired on political basis.
He had warned the officials by saying that if anybody in the CPLC was found guilty, they would be fired.
